Gender Mainstreaming in Agriculture & Allied

Sectors

1
Introduction
Rural women, mainly farmers, number at least 1.6 billion worldwide, and
represent
more than a quarter of the total world population. Nearly half of the
worlds farmers
are women, and women comprise most of the agricultural workforce in
developing
countries. Approximately one third of the rural households in subSaharan Africa are
headed by women. Women produce on average more than half of all the
food that is
produced (up to 80% in Africa, 60% in Asia; and 30 to 40 % in Latin
America and
Western countries). During 1990s, it was estimated that women farmers in
subSaharan Africa were responsible for between 60 and 80% of all agricultural

production, thus forming the economic backbone of the rural community.

Paradoxically, rural womens contribution to building social and economic
capital
remains concealed because they are invisible in plans and programs
thereby denying
them access to resources which could enhance their socioeconomic contribution to
society. Therefore women own only 2% of the land, and receive only 1 %
of all
agricultural credit, while only 5 % of all agricultural extension resources
are directed
towards them. The extremes of poverty and marginalisation that the
inequitable
access to resources exposes women to means that they are
disproportionately
exposed to shocks such as illness, death, floods and drought.
Rural poverty is deeply rooted in imbalance between what women do and
what they
have. Statistics show that almost 70% of economically active women
in low-income
fooddeficit countries are employed in the agricultural sector and,
therefore, play
crucial roles in assuring food security. Despite this, rural women battle
hunger and
poverty on increasingly marginal land with meager resources and their
voices are
seldom heard among decision makers (FAO, 2007).
The rural-to-urban migration of men in search of paid employment and
their rising
mortalities are said to be leading to increased numbers of femaleheaded households
in the developing world. This feminization of agriculture has placed a
considerable

burden on womens capacity to produce, provide, and prepare food in the

face of
considerable obstacles.
Despite the fact that women are the worlds principal food producers and
providers,
they remain invisible partners in development. Lack of available gender
disaggregated data means that womens contribution to agriculture in
particular is
poorly understood and their specific needs ignored in development
planning. This
extends to matters as basic as the design of farm tools. But womens full
potential in
agriculture must be realized if the goal of the 1996 world food summit - to
halve the
number of hungry people in the world by 2015 is to be achieved.
Gender Mainstreaming
Gender mainstreaming is the process of assessing the implications for
women and
men of any planned action, including legislation, policies or programmes,
in all areas
and at all levels. It is a strategy for making womens as well as mens
concerns and
experiences an integral dimension of the design, implementation,
monitoring and
evaluation of policies and programmes in all political, economic and
societal spheres
so that women and men benefit equally and inequality is not perpetuated.
The
ultimate goal is to achieve gender equality.
Gender and Agricultural Development
Agriculture involves both self-employment and wage employment and
accordingly

requires precise information about who does what? In fact, the land
holding of 75%
of the farming community being small, the number of landless labourers
has swelled
up over time by working on others farm. The situation thus demands an
understanding of activity performance of men and women and the
children girls and
boys- whose lives are fundamentally structured in different ways. Their
living pattern,
working pattern, interaction style and sharing of scientific information
differ within the

3
socio-economic groups. Similarly, a gender-based division of labour is
universal, but
culture and community diversities cause differentiation.
Gender, therefore, has to be recognized as the social characteristic that
cuts across
caste, class, occupation, age and ethnicity. It is gender that differentiates
the roles,
responsibilities, resources, constraints and opportunities of women and
men in
agriculture for which precise gender information is the need of the day.
Building gender into agricultural development will lead to:
Building inherent strength of women and men to mutually learn
Overcoming gender based prejudices
Articulating gender perspectives in development activities
Gender Concepts
Gender
It identifies the social relations between men and women. It refers to the

relationship between men and women, boys and girls, and how this is
socially
constructed. Gender roles are dynamic and change over time.
Gender refers to the socially constructed roles and responsibilities of
men and
women, in a given culture or location. These roles are influenced by
perceptions and
expectations arising from cultural, political, environmental, economic,
social, and
religious factors, as well as custom, law, class, ethnicity, and individual or
institutional
bias. Gender attitudes and behaviors are learned and can be changed.

4
Sex
It identifies the biological differences between men and women.
GENDER
* Social differences between men
and women

SEX
* Biologically determined
differences
between men and women

* Learned

* Universal

* Changeable over time

* Not changeable

*Have wide variations within

and between cultures
Gender Bias
The tendency to make decisions or take actions based on gender.

Gender Mainstreaming
Gender mainstreaming is the process of ensuring that women and men
have equal
access and control over resources, development benefits and decisionmaking, at all
stages of the development process.
Gender Discrimination
Prejudicial treatment of an individual based on a gender stereotype (often
referred to
as sexism or sexual discrimination).
Gender equality
Gender equality is the result of the absence of discrimination on the basis
of a
person's sex in opportunities and the allocation of resources or benefits or
in access to
services

5
Gender equity
Condition in which women and men participate as equals, have equal
access to
resources, and equal opportunities to exercise control. Fair treatment for
both women
and men, according to their respective needs.
Gender issues
Specific consequences of the inequality of women and men.
Gender Relations

Ways in which a culture or a society defines rights, responsibilities and

identities of
men and women in relation to one another.
Empowerment
The process of generating and building capacities to exercise control over
ones life.
Gender division of labour
The roles, responsibilities and activities assigned to women and men
based on
gender.
Gender Analysis
It provides disaggregated data by sex, and an understanding of the social
construction of gender roles, how labour is divided and valued. Gender
Analysis is the
process of analyzing information in order to ensure that development
benefits and
resources are effectively and equitably targeted to both women and men,
and to
successfully anticipate and avoid any negative impacts development may
have on
women or men or on gender relations.
Sex disaggregated data
For a gender analysis, all data should be separated by sex in order to
allow differential
impacts on men and women to be measured.

6
Gender Planning
Gender Planning refers to the process of planning developmental
programmes and

projects that are gender sensitive and which take into account the impact
of differing
gender roles and gender needs of women and men in the target
community or sector.
It involves the selection of appropriate approaches to address not only
women and
mens practical needs, but which also identifies entry points for
challenging unequal
relations (ie. strategic needs) and to enhance the genderresponsiveness of policy
dialogue.
Gender Roles
Both men and women play multiple roles in society. The gender roles of
women can
be identified as reproductive, productive and community managing roles,
while mens
are categorized as either productive or community politics. Men are able
to focus on a
particular productive role and play their multiple roles sequentially.
Women, in
contrast to men, must play their roles simultaneously, and balance
competing claims
on time for each of them.
Productive roles
Refer to the activities carried out by men and women in order to produce
goods and
services either for sale, exchange or to meet the subsistence needs of the
family. For
example in agriculture, productive activities include planting, animal
husbandry and
gardening that refer to farmers themselves, or for other people as
employees.
Reproductive roles

Refer to the activities needed to ensure the reproduction of society's

labour force.
This includes child bearing, rearing, and care for family members such as
children,
elderly and workers. These tasks are done mostly by women.

7
Community managing role
Activities undertaken primarily by women at the community level, as an
extension of
their reproductive role, to ensure the provision and maintenance of scarce
resources
of collective consumption such as water, fodder, firewood etc. This is
voluntary unpaid
work undertaken in free time.
Community politics role
Activities undertaken primarily by men at the community level, organizing
at the
formal political level, often within the framework of national politics. This
work is
usually undertaken by men and may be paid directly or result in increased
power and
status.
Triple role/multiple burden
These terms refer to the fact that women tend to work longer and more
fragmented
days than men as they are usually involved in three different gender rolesreproductive, productive and community work.
Gender Needs

Leading on from the fact that women and men have differing roles based
on their
gender, they will also have differing gender needs. These needs can be
classified as
either strategic or practical needs.
Practical Gender Needs (PGNs)
Practical gender needs are the needs women identify in their socially
accepted roles in
society. PGNs do not challenge, although they arise out of, gender
divisions of labour
and womens subordinate position in society. PGNs are a response to
immediate and
perceived necessity, identified within a specific context. They are practical
in nature
and often concern inadequacies in living conditions such as water
provision, health
care and employment.

8
Strategic Gender Needs (SGNs)
Strategic gender needs are the needs women identify because of their
subordinate
position in society. They vary according to particular contexts, related to
gender
divisions of labour, power and control, and may include issues such as
legal rights,
domestic violence, equal wages and womens control over their bodies.
Meeting SGNs
assists women to achieve greater equality and change existing roles,
thereby
challenging womens subordinate position. They are more long term and
less visible
than practical gender needs.

Feminization of Agriculture
In many parts of the world today, there is an increasing trend towards
what has been
termed as feminization of agriculture. As mens participation in
agriculture declines,
the role of women in agricultural production becomes ever more
dominant. In India,
the major cause for this phenomenon is the migration of men from rural
areas to
towns and cities, in their own countries or abroad, in search of paid
employment.
In Africa, for example, the male population in rural areas is falling rapidly,
while the
female population remains relatively stable. In Malawi, the rural male
population has
dropped by 21.8 percent between 1970 and 1990. During the same 20year period,
the rural female population declined by only 5.4 percent.
This trend has resulted in an increase in the proportion of households
headed by
women. Approximately one-third of all rural households in subSaharan Africa are
now headed by women and in India the percentage of Womenheaded Households
account for 10.4 percent. Studies have shown that women heads of
household tend
to be younger and less educated than their male counterparts. They also
generally
have less land to work and even less capital and extra farm labour to work
with.

With a shortage of labour and capital, women heads of household are

often forced to
make adjustments to cropping patterns and farming systems. These
adjustments
have resulted in decreases in production and, in some cases, shifts
towards less
nutritious crops. Not surprisingly, these households often suffer from
increased
malnutrition and food insecurity.
Gender Division of Labour
The division of labour between men and women in crop production varies
considerably from region to region and community to community.
However, it is
usually men who plough the fields and drive draught animals whereas
women do the
major share of sowing, weeding, applying fertilizers and pesticides,
harvesting and
threshing.
Similarly, men tend to do the work of large-scale cash cropping, especially
when it is
highly mechanized, while women take care of household food production
and smallscale cultivation of cash crops, requiring low levels of technology.
Women make an essential contribution to producing staple crops. In
Southeast Asia,
for example, it is women who provide up to 90 percent of the labour for
rice
cultivation. They do almost all the work of planting and transplanting,
fertilizing,
weeding, irrigating and harvesting. After the rice has been harvested, they
women
also carry out the post-harvest tasks before the rice can be stored,
marketed, cooked

or eaten.
Women also play a big role in growing secondary crops such as legumes
and
vegetables. In addition to providing essential nutrients, these crops are
often the only
food available during the lean season between harvests or when the main
harvest
fails. Home gardens, often tended almost exclusively by women, also
claim precious
labour-intensive time.
10
Despite their complementary roles in agriculture, studies have shown that
in almost all
societies, women tend to work longer hours than men. The difference in
workloads is
particularly marked for rural women, the world's principal food producers.
Women are
involved in every stage of food production and, although there is
a gender-based
division of labour, women do tend to shoulder the larger share. In addition
to food
production activities, women have the responsibility of preparing and
processing the
food while fulfilling their fundamental role of nurturing and caring for
children and
attending to elderly members of the household.
The absence of male labour, however, may force women with an
expanded workload
to grow less labour intensive - and often less nutritious - crops with a
reliance on child
labour. This has serious implications both for the family and the human
capital of the
country. Technological innovations can provide important opportunities to
free

women's time, boost women's production potential as well as improve

their quality of
life and that of their families.
The division of labour between genders still remains poorly understood.
This is
because much of women's work in crop production consists of unpaid
labour in fields
that produce for the household rather than the market. As a result,
women's work
goes unrecorded in statistics. Only by the collection and analysis of such
gender
disaggregated data will development strategies target women as active
and equal
partners in agricultural development.
Credit Support for Women Farmers
Credit and capital are basic requisites to increase agricultural production.
Women and
men farmers need short-term credit to buy improved seeds, fertilizers,
insecticides
and herbicides and to hire farm labourers to work in the fields and help
with postharvest operations. And they need long-term credit to invest in more
efficient
technologies - irrigation, labour-saving tools and implements and transport
- and to
set up new enterprises, if conditions are favourable. Yet, throughout the
developing

11
world, and even in cases where they are acting as heads of their
household, women
are denied full legal status that would grant them loans. This limited, and
often
complete lack of, access to rural financial services hampers women's
efforts to

improve or expand their farm activities so as to earn a cash income.

Although both women and men small farmers have problems acquiring
credit in
developing countries, the situation facing women is more serious because
they lack
collateral. As men are the legally recognized landowners, it is they who
provide the
collateral. When they migrate to towns and cities, leaving women to
manage the
household farm, the problem is clearly compounded. Ironically, both
studies and
experience show that, when women succeed in obtaining credit, they are
more
reliable than men in their debt repayments.
A number of factors determine the reluctance of banks and credit
associations to lend
to women:
they tend to be inexperienced borrowers - both a cause and a
consequence of
the problem;
they usually request small loans;
they are not normally involved in the development and extension
programmes
or structures that act as an interface with lending institutions;
widespread female illiteracy means that many are often incapable of
following
application procedures.

Women's limited participation in male-dominated farmers' associations

and
cooperatives also reduces the likelihood of their receiving credit when it is
allocated.
Setting up revolving funds and credit schemes harnesses the potential of
rural women
to become full partners in sustainable development

12
Extension Support for Women Farmers
Agricultural extension programmes ensure that information on new
technologies,
plant varieties and cultural practices reaches farmers. However, in the
developing
world it is common practice to direct extension and training services
primarily towards
men. A recent FAO survey showed that female farmers receive only five
percent of all
agricultural extension services worldwide and that only 15 percent of the
world's
extension agents are women.
Studies on agricultural extension have highlighted a number of
weaknesses in
reaching rural women. Traditionally, most extension services have been
devoted to
farmers who own land and who are willing and able to obtain credit and
invest it in
inputs and technological innovations. Since women often lack access to
land or access
to other collateral with which to obtain credit, extension services,
unintentionally,
bypass women.
For too long, policies have been based on the assumption - proved wrong
by studies that information conveyed to the male head of a household would be
passed on to its
female members. But men do not necessarily discuss production decisions
with their
wives or transfer extension knowledge to them. Furthermore, policymakers fail to
recognize that men and women are often responsible for different crops,
livestock,

tasks and income-generating activities and that their extension needs

consequently
differ.
Extension services usually focus on commercial production rather than on
subsistence
crops, which are the primary concern of women farmers and also the key
to food
security in developing countries. Extension agents will often choose to
work with a
few farmers judged to have a progressive attitude, while neglecting
the resource-poor
and landless, including women. To compound the problem, extension
meetings are

13
often scheduled at times when women farmers are unable to attend
because of their
other household responsibilities.
As rural women are a vital link in agricultural development, it is essential
that they
take their place alongside men as full participants in and beneficiaries of
extension
programmes.
Gender Issues in Agriculture
Over-burden of Work
Rural women are much more over-burdened than men owing to their
multipleoccupations. Researches on women in agriculture have revealed that on
an average
women work for 15-16 hours a day. Studies further point out that farm
activities,

which are time and labour intensive, monotonous, repetitive and more
drudgery
prone, are generally performed by women. Since these operations are
done
manually, they cause considerable physical and mental fatigue and health
problems.
Impact of Technology
Some of the new agricultural technologies are reported to have affected
farmwomen
adversely. Green revolution had led to the dispossession of small
women land-holders,
who have been forced to join the ranks of wage earners. Wherever the
new
agricultural technology led to multiple cropping, the work load of women
has
increased. While a number of tasks performed by males have been
mechanized, the
tasks usually allotted to women continue to be manual and suffer from
drudgery.
Even where improved techniques have been found for the womens
activities, there is
not sufficient access to training in such techniques.

14
Facilities and Support Services
There is rigidity for female labourers in terms of working hours, place and
duration of
work. Because of this, children are neglected and health of women is also
adversely

affected. Lack of adequate support services like child care servicescreche, balwadi,
adequate maternity and health care- lack of safe drinking water etc.
further add to
their problems.
Development Bias
Despite the contribution of women in the production process, persistent
bias of
development planners in treating them primarily as consumers of social
services
rather than producers, kept them away from the development
programmes in
agriculture and allied sectors.
Women suffer from a statistical purdah as a result of which their
contribution is not
recognized. They often have heavier workloads than men and bear
virtually sole
responsibility for family welfare and household management. However,
they have
limited control over productive resources. Gender discrimination, rooted in
law and
custom, is pervasive and impedes socio-economic development.
Constraints to Womens Access to Resources
Many of the constraints that rural women confront are similar to those all
resource
poor farmers confront such as lack of access to land, credit, training,
extension and
marketing facilities. But, for social and economic reasons, womens
constraints are
even more pronounced and, in general, development interventions that
seek to
remove constraints for poor farmers do not reach women.

Consequently, the development of technologies specifically tailored

to women-specific
occupations and the involvement of women in technology development
and transfer

15
have received inadequate attention from both scientific and
administrative
departments of governments.
Access to Land
Womens lack of access to land or insecure tenure continues to be a major
obstacle to
increasing their contributions and benefits. When women have access to
land, they
often do not have secure tenancy and tend to have smaller and less
productive plots
in comparison with men. While land access is increasingly problematic for
poor men
and women, womens access has further restriction by inheritance laws
and customs.
Rural women-headed households are especially affected by land
constraints.
Access to Credit
Women are better credit risks. In places where women are legally entitled
to access
to financial institutions, they face problems getting loans because they
often belong to
the poorest sector of the rural population. Rural financial institutions are
also often
hesitant to accept women clients because they, in an even greater
proportion than
men, cannot fulfill collateral requirements, are inexperienced borrowers,
do not have

access to extension and marketing services and cannot fulfill application

requirements.
Access to Markets
Women engaged in agriculture, forestry and fishery tend to produce small
quantities
and have poor access to marketing boards and cooperatives. Therefore,
women sell
mainly to private traders and have low bargaining power. Institutions
which promote
womens group access to market should be strengthened. Successful
examples are of
SEWA, Gramin Bank, SHG Federations etc.
Research and Technology Development
Women only benefit from agricultural
technology and methods imparted are
support programmes if the information,
relevant to their production activities.
16
Agricultural research is generally very less oriented towards adapting
technology to
womens physical capabilities or towards addressing their tasks. Womens
low
productivity stems mainly from lack of appropriate technology.
Access to Extension and Training
Women farmers usually have been neglected in extension efforts.
Recently, the need
for innovating changes in extension programmes for women farmers is
being felt. The
Central Sector Scheme Women in Agriculture, which started on a pilot
basis in 199394 in seven states, has shown encouraging results and was expanded to a
few other
states.

The need for capacity building and skill up-gradation of farmwomen is now
receiving
the priority it deserves. Special extension and technology dissemination
programmes
for women are being implemented.
Emphasis in Various Plans
There has been a significant shift in the approach towards the well being
of women
from welfare during 1950s to development during 1970s and to
empowerment during
the 1990s.
th

The strategy of the 8 Five-Year Plan was to increase participation of

women in
economic activities by getting them organized, along the cooperatives
and trade union
lines, and expanding their access and control over resources through legal
and
administrative action.
th

The 9 Five-Year Plan has identified empowerment of women as an

objective and
called for the preparation of component plans for women in every sector
of
development. This has created an unprecedented opportunity for ensuring
that
womens needs and perspectives are adequately reflected in the planprocess. There

17
is now a need to engender the development process. Attention in this
direction would
require identification of major constraints that hamper the productivity of
women

farmers, and recommend appropriate policy and institutional measures to

overcome
those constraints. These measures may be in terms of separate training
for them;
preferential membership in the rural cooperatives, access to technology,
credit and
marketing; and imparting new skills through a combination of training,
practical
demonstrations supplemented with hands-on experiences in the field.
The Agricultural Policy 2000 has also highlighted incorporation of gender
issues in the
agricultural development agenda recognizing womens role as farmers
and producers
of crops and livestock, as users of technology, as active agents in
marketing,
processing and storage of food and as agricultural labourers.
The policy stated that high priority should be accorded to recognition and
mainstreaming of womens role in agriculture. Appropriate structural,
functional and
th

institutional measures would be initiated in the 10 Plan to empower

women and
build their capacities and improve their access to inputs such as land,
credit and
agricultural technology.
Gender Analysis
Gender analysis is the first and most critical step forward towards genderresponsive
planning and programming. It involves the collection and analysis of sexdisaggregated information. It examines the differences, commonalties and
interactions between women and men. Gender analysis examines
womens and mens
specific activities, conditions, needs, access to and control over resources,
and access

to development benefits and decision-making.

There are several frameworks and methodologies to conduct a Gender
analysis in
development related fields: The Moser Framework, the Harvard Analytical
Framework,
the Social-relations Framework, the Longwe Framework and more. Each
model has its

18

strengths and weaknesses. Some are useful for micro-planning and give
greater
importance to gender roles (Harvard Framework), while others emphasize
the enquiry
into social relations. Some have been designed to exclusively look at
womens
empowerment (Longwe Framework).
To conduct a Gender Analysis, a core set of issues should be addressed.
These are:
Womens and mens roles.

Factors that shape gender

roles
and the gender division of
work

Access to and control over

resources and opportunities,
and
their systems of distribution

Who does what, with what resources?

Paying
particular attention to variations within
subgroups of women and men (eg. elderly
women, adolescent girls, men from urban
areas etc). Typically, women perform
three
kinds of roles:
- Productive roles (paid or not);
- Reproductive roles (sustaining family
living
conditions and basic needs
usually unpaid
work) and
- Community role.
Depending on the circumstances,
traditions
and institutions that shape gender roles
represent constraints and / or
opportunities
for women and men. Understanding to
what
extent, and when, they are critical to
designing the programs and projects
suitable
to the community
Not all men and women have the same
access to and control over resources and
opportunities.
Understanding
the
mechanisms and rules by which the
resources and benefits are distributed is
important to assess the situation of

women
vis--vis men (and vice versa) and
determine
the most effective entry points for
action.
Access to and participation in Who decides? How are decisions taken
decision making processes
concerning womens and mens lives and
those of their families? Are women and
men
equally represented or given an
opportunity
to influence such processes?
Mens and womens practical Given their respective roles, who needs
and
what
strategic needs and interests. for what purpose?

19
The format below can be used for analysis of roles played by men and
women
in different crop production activities, livestock rearing, household and offfarm
production activities. Participation of both male and female members of
the
households should be ensured for analyzing the activities performed in
each sector.
Gender Analysis of Activities
Males
Crop Production
Crop or
Field 1
Task
1

Task 2
Task 3
Livestock
Production
Animal

No. of days

Females

No. of
days


Task
1

.

Task 2 .

.

Task 3 .

.
Total
The following table can be used in a focused group discussion for
understanding the access and control profile of men and women over
different
resources, in a household and community.

20

Access & Control Profile

Resource

Access

Control

Women Men

Women Men

Comment

Land
Equipment
Labour
Cash, Gold / Jewellery
Employment Opportunities
Education/Trainings
Others
The information generated using the above tables will help the extension
functionaries and the community to understand the existing scenario of
gender
division of work/roles, work load and the time spent on different activities.
Further, it
will be helpful to plan the extension activities as per the needs of the
farming
community.

21
Case Study

a) Agriculture

In the Reddiarchatram region of Dindigul district in Tamil Nadu, the

organization M.S. Swaminathan Research Foundation (MSSRF), introduced
an eco
technological approach for pest control in the form of bio-pesticides at
farm level. The
technology involves the breeding of a Parasitoid, Trychogramma, for killing
the eggs
laid by pests like Helliothsis from green worms, which caused crop loss to
farmers.
The technology was introduced primarily through the involvement of
women from
landless and marginal landholding families, who were formed into SHGs.
The objective
was to address the problem of pest control and management and
enhancing incomes,
while generating self- employment opportunities for poor women and
inculcating
them new skills. The women were trained in the new technology and the
management of the centre. The technology has been well received by the
farmers,
given its cost-effectiveness and easy adaptability at farm level. The
process has
brought women into new skills, generating employment and incomes for
many poor
women. Women manage the centre independently and have evolved as
trainers,
while linking up with commercial banks in the area and with farmers
associations to
spread the technology. However, larger questions of changes in gender
relations and
male attitudes towards women coming into new skills need to be looked at
more
closely. Meanwhile, given the fact that most of the women in the project
are from

landless and marginal holding families, other larger questions related to

their strategic
interests like land entitlements and ownership over productive assets
remain
unaddressed within the project.
Questions for case analysis
1.What was the objective of the program?
2.What were the interventions undertaken?
3.What was the impact on gender and Key lessons learnt?
22
b:) Community Biogas Plant
Introduction of a Community Biogas Plant (CBP) in a village and ensuring
its
successful sustenance is not easy as the project demands the cooperation
of both
men and women of the village as a whole. As one Sarpanch very aptly put
it, it is not
managing the plant which is difficult, the tough part is managing the
people. It is
also important that any technology that supplies cooking energy should
obviously be
directed towards women. To cite an example, a Community Biogas Plant
(CBP), which
was set up in Fateh Singh ka Purwa, a village in Etawah district of Uttar
Pradesh, was
the first such plant to serve an entire village. Technologically, this
demonstration
plant was a success but socially it was a failure. Trouble started after the
plan ran
successfully for a year. Male community leaders pointed out that they
were not
interested in energy for cooking and would rather have energy to power
irrigation

pumps, chaff cutters and milling machines. Women were primarily

dependent on the
plant for their cooking requirements and it was decided without consulting
them that
gas supply would be limited to two hours in the morning from 8-10 a.m.,
and by then
women were already in the fields. This fact was completely ignored by the
CBP
organizers. For the women, the Plant did not even provide 25% of their
days cooking
needs and they had to look again for wood and prepare dung cakes. The
new
technology of CBP had also increased the womens dependence on the
men even for
routine cleaning of the burners. The technology was clearly not under the
control of
women. In the light of conflicting priorities and needs on the gas by
women and men,
womens cooking energy needs got relegated to second place.
Questions for case analysis
1.What was the objective of the program?
2.What were the interventions undertaken?
3.What was the impact on gender and Key lessons learnt?

23
c. Potable Water
This case study focuses on development work in a community of 110
families
in a village in Himachal Pradesh. Here, the women had to walk two
kilometers down
a very steep, muddy path to get water. Twice each day, they filled their
cans with

water and carried the 20-litre cans on their backs up the steep hill. Even
pregnant
or sick woman did this.
In 1998, the village panchayat got some additional funds and decided to
invest the same in a fruitful manner. A meeting of the villagers was called
and which
was attended by 30 men and only 5 women. The women rated their
difficulty in
getting water as the biggest problem. While the men, who never fetch
water, rated
this problem as fifth priority. Accordingly, the investment was diverted to
the
priorities of the men. The women continued to fetch water from long
distance.
In 2003, the Foundation for Community Development, an NGO, visited the
village and organized meetings in the community with the active
involvement of men
and women in equal number. During these meetings, the members
identified their
problems and identified which projects would benefit both men and
women. They
used Gender Analysis Matrix, which enabled them to understand the
potential impact
of need of potable water at the level of the women, men, household and
the
community. This helped in prioritizing need for potable water as priority
one and
deciding the location of the well. The well was constructed and equipped
with a
motor pump that ejected water into a large well constructed. Today the
water
project is completed and potable water is easily accessible in the
community.
To quote Dr. M.S. Swaminathan, if men had to fetch drinking water, then
2,30,000 villages would not have remained without drinking water after
many

decades of planned development.

Questions for case analysis
1.What was the objective of the program?
2.What were the interventions undertaken?
3.What was the impact on gender and Key lessons learnt?
24
Gender Budgeting
Gender Budgeting is a dissection of the Government budget to establish
its
gender-differential impacts and to translate gender commitments into
budgetary commitments.
Gender Budgeting looks at Government budget from a gender perspective
to
assess how it addresses the needs of women in areas like health,
education,
employment, agriculture, rural development etc.
Gender Budgeting does not seek to create a separate budget but seeks
affirmative action to address specific needs of women.
Gender Responsive Budgeting initiatives provide a way of assessing the
impact
of Government revenue and expenditure on women.
Why Gender Budgeting?
Budgets are universally accepted as powerful tools in achieving
development
objectives and act as an indicator of commitment to the stated policy of
the
Government. National budgets reflect how governments mobilize
and
allocate public resources, and how they aim to meet the social
and

economic needs of their people. The rationale of gender budgeting

arises
from recognition of the fact that national budgets impact various sections
of
the society differently through the pattern of resource allocation and
priority
accorded to competing sectors. Women stand apart as one segment of the
population that warrants special attention due to their vulnerability and
lack of
access to state resources. Thus, gender responsive budget policies
can
contribute to achieving the objectives of gender equality, human
development and economic efficiency. The purpose of gender
budgeting
exercise is to assess quantum and adequacy of allocation of resources for
women and establish the extent to which Gender commitments are
translated

25
in to budgetary commitments. This exercise facilitates increase in
accountability, transparency and participation of women in the
community. The macro policies of the Government can have a significant
impact on gender gaps in various macro indicators related to health,
education,
income, etc. Gender mainstreaming requires gender responsive
policy.
When gender equality considerations are incorporated into policy
making, the concerns and needs of both women and men become
integral part of the design, implementation, monitoring and
evaluation of policies and programmes in all sections of society.
Gender Mainstreaming- The new mantra
The conventional approach to Gender budgeting, i.e. isolating public
expenditure- direct and indirect for women, would continue to be a core

activity under the broad gender budgeting exercise with future action
concentrating on fine-tuning methodology and universalizing the tools for
application at all levels of public expenditure.
However, a broader perspective is emerging under the concept of Gender
Budgeting- Gender Mainstreaming. The gender perspective on Public
Expenditure and Policy is no longer restricted to the realm of social sector
Departments like Education, Health, Rural Development etc. All areas of
public
expenditure, Revenue and Policy need to be viewed with a gender
perspective.
It is necessary to recognize that women are equal players in the economy
whether they participate directly as workers or indirectly as members of
the
care economy. To that extent, every policy of the Government- fiscal,
monetary
or trade has a direct impact on the well being of women. Thus it is not
adequate to analyze in detail, allocation of resources for a few sectors of
the
economy, which are traditionally considered as women related. The
analysis
has to cover every rupee of public expenditure. It has to cover the way

26
schemes are conceptualized and how women friendly they are in
implementation and targeting of beneficiaries.
Tools of Gender Budgeting
Guidelines for Gender Sensitive Review of Public Expenditure and
Policy
These have been framed by the Department of Women and Child
Development, Govt. of India in the form of checklists I and II. Checklist I is
for

programmes that are beneficiary oriented and consciously target women.

Checklist II covers mainstream sectors.
Checklist I for Gender Specific Expenditure
Conventionally, gender budget analysis, by way of isolation of women
related
expenditure, has been carried out for Ministries/Departments like
Health
and Family Welfare, Rural Development, Human Resource Development,
Urban
Employment and Poverty Alleviation, Youth and Sports Affairs, Labour,
Social
Justice and Empowerment, Tribal Affairs, Drinking Water, Small Scale
Industries, Agro and Rural Industries, Science and Technology, NonConventional Energy Sources, Textiles and Agriculture.
Suggested steps that may be undertaken by these various
Ministries/Departments who are running programmes/schemes of gender
specific nature i.e. where the targeted beneficiaries are primarily women
are as
follows:
Planning and Budgeting
List of schemes and programmes, which are gender specific

27
Briefly indicating activities undertaken under programmes for
women.
Indicating expected output indicators like number of women
beneficiaries, increase in employment of women, post-project increase
in resources/ income/ skills etc.

Quantifying allocation of resources in annual budget and physical

targets thereof.
Assessing adequacy of resource allocation in terms of population of
targeted beneficiaries that need the concerned schematic intervention,
the trend of past expenditure etc.
Performance Audit
Reviewing actual performance- physical and financial vis a vis the
annual
targets and identifying constraints in achieving targets (like need for
strengthening delivery infrastructure, capacity building etc.)
Carrying out reality check- Evaluation of programme
intervention, incidence of benefit, identifying impact indicators like
comparative status of women before and after the programme
etc.
Compiling a trend analysis of expenditure and out put indicators and
impact indicators.
Future Planning and Corrective Action
Addressing constraints identified.
Establishing requirement of resources in terms of population of
targeted
beneficiaries/magnitude of perceived problems like IMR, MMR, literacy
ratio etc.
Reviewing adequacy of resources available financial and physical like
trained manpower etc.

28
Planning for modification in policies and/or programmes /schemes
based on results of review.
Checklist II for mainstream sectors (General schemes)

Mainstream sectors like Defence, Power, Telecommunications,

Transport, Industry, Commerce etc. may consider adopting the following
checklist to determine the gender impact of their expenditure.
List of all programmes entailing public expenditure with a brief
description of activities entailed.
Identifying target group of beneficiaries/users.
Establishing whether users/beneficiaries are being categorized
by sex (male/female) at present and, if not, to what extent would it be
feasible.
Identify possibility of undertaking special measures to facilitate
access of services for women- either through affirmative action like
quotas,
priority lists etc. or through expansion of services that are women specific
like
all women police stations, womens special buses etc.
Analyzing the employment pattern in rendering of these services/
programmes from a gender perspective and examining avenues to
enhance
womens recruitment.
Focus on special initiatives to promote participation of women
either in employment force or as users.
Indicating the extent to which women are engaged in decisionmaking processes at various levels within the sector and in the
organizations
and initiating action to correct gender biases and imbalances.

29
These exercises can be commenced by each Ministry/Department of

the Government, to start with, for a few select programmes/schemes

which
may be selected either in terms of their perceived gender impact, or
based on
considerations of heaviest budget allocation. Based on the result of
carrying
out the above steps, the gender budgeting exercise may be
institutionalized in
the manner detailed in
checklist-I
A few illustrative examples of gender initiatives in mainstream sectors are
given below: Priority in awarding commercial/ domestic power connections for women
entrepreneurs, widows, households headed by women etc.
Priority in allocation of industrial licenses/commercial plots/petrol pumps
and gas
stations for women, women cooperatives/self help groups etc.

b. Gender Profile of Public Expenditure

This entails review of all schemes and public expenditure from gender
perspective and isolating the gender component by way of expenditure
and
physical targets. Trend of the gender component is indicative of extent to
which budgeting is gender responsive.
c. Beneficiary Needs Assessment
Establishing requirements from the point of view of women and
reviewing effectiveness of public expenditure accordingly.

30
d. Impact Analysis
Establishing actual impact of public expenditure and policies from
gender perspective, through monitoring, evaluation and field level
surveys. This
would include tracking flow of intended benefits.
e. Gender-Disaggregated Public Expenditure Benefit Incidence
Analysis
This entails analysis of the extent to which men and women benefit from
expenditure on publicly provided services.
Role of Gender Budgeting Cells at State level
Act as a nodal agency for all gender responsive budgeting initiatives.
Pilot action on gender sensitive review of public expenditure and
policies (Expenditure/Revenue/Policies/Legislation etc.) as per Checklist I
and
II
Guide and undertake collection of gender-disaggregated data for target
group of beneficiaries covered under expenditure, revenue raising/ policy/
legislation
Guide gender budgeting initiatives within Departments as well as in
field units responsible for implementing government programmes.
Conduct gender based impact analysis, beneficiary needs assessment
and beneficiary incidence analysis to
Establish effectiveness of public expenditure
Identify scope for re-prioritization of public expenditure
Improve implementation etc.

31
Collate and promote best practices on participative budgeting for and
implementation of schemes
Guidelines for Mainstreaming Gender
Gender must be integrated into ALL stages of the project cycle.
Project formulation and design
1.Ensure
gender
incorporated into

is

addressed

during fact-finding missions

and

the project concept/outline paper, over viewing the different roles,

functions
and needs of women and men in the sector;
2.Ensure gender is incorporated into the terms of reference for the
identification/
formulation mission to address and analyse the issue;
3.Employ a gender specialist or a social development specialist with
gender
expertise to assist in the design, monitoring and evaluation of the project.
Also
employ/deploy staff (both men and women) in proper ratio at decision
making
level and field level positions.
4.Separate data by sex in all baseline studies and identify gender
specific
indicators from the baseline studies;
5.Undertake participatory rural appraisal activities that involve community
Level
women and men actively;
6.Assess the gender capacity of the implementing institutions as a part of
overall
capacity development;

32
Project implementation and monitoring
1.Involve gender specialists in project monitoring;
2.Consult with the womens groups or their representatives to ensure that
womens needs are addressed in project activities;
3.Devise and measure gender indicators to differentiate male and female
beneficiary outcomes;
4.Ensure programme staff monitor project disbursements to ensure that
inputs
are used in such a way as to ensure women have equal access to project
resources and benefits;
5.Strive towards equal representation of women and men in project
management
and meetings
6.Ensure gender issues are raised/on the agenda for meetings and
reviews;
7.Ensure progress reports detail data disaggregated by sex and that they
analyse
gender issues;
8.Conduct gender analysis training for your staff and counterparts or fund
a
gender specialist to do this; Strive towards equal representation of men
and
women in all training activities.

Project Review and Evaluation

Ensure the programme staff understands and applies gender indicators of
success;
Impact of the project interventions on men and women in terms of
1.Strengthening leadership and capacities of women and men

2.Gaining new skills (financial, managerial, organizational, technical etc)

3.Access and control over resources and technology as against the
situation prior
to the intervention
33
4.Impact of programme in terms of increased economic returns and
enhancement of new economic opportunities for men and women
5.Nature of sharing benefits from programme between men and women
6.Impact of the programme on womens practical and strategic gender
needs
(education, health, improved employment opportunities, political status,
violence, land entitlements etc.)
7.What were the driving and restraining factors in the process of planning,
implementation and monitoring of the project?
8.What are the key lessons learnt?

Strategies for Mainstreaming Gender

1.Organizing Women Groups.
Male extension workers can be trained to work more closely with women
in
settings that are culturally acceptable, such as women groups.
Such groups can also improve access to infrastructure.
2.Technologies to reduce energy and time spent, particularly the
household and
farm production activities. Extending the technological innovations such
as
weeders, paddy
parboiling

threshers,

winnowers,

sprayers,

harvesting

tools,

units, maize shellers, dal making machines etc., will reduce the burden of
women.

3.Increasing the bio-mass production to meet fuel needs, planting of fast

growing fodder in common lands and developing mechanisms for sharing
the
fodder helps women in saving lot of time and devote this time for income
generating activities.
4.Innovative credit programmes using non-traditional forms of collateral
and local
institutions (women groups) can ensure that women are able to obtain
access
to credit.

34
5.Identifying the right training and extension needs of women is one of
the most
important steps in initiating any developmental programme.
* Gender Analysis: Gender Analysis of activities, resources, constraints,
implications and benefits should be understood using Participatory
Approach.
This information should be taken into consideration for needs assessment.
The ability of staff members / extension functionaries to do this has to be
built
up.
6.Giving women farmers more access to meetings, trainings, exposure
visits and
demonstrations and organizing training programmes based on the needs
of the
women. Institutional and village based trainings to be organized as per
the
convenience of the women farmers.
7.Where severe fragmentation exists, collective farming should be
encouraged by
women.
8.Farmer to
encouraged.

farmer

training

or

participatory

training

should

be

9.Active women can be selected, trained and provided with inputs and
credit to
practice improved technologies. Their fields can be used as demonstration
plots for training other women.
10.Recruiting more women extension workers from rural areas and
training them.
11.Female para-extension agriculturists, who are relatively uneducated,
can be

posted in their own villages with short crash courses on agriculture.

12.Appointing female supervisors and Subject matter specialists (SMSs).
13.Making better use of male extension agents.

Change the stereo-typed attitude of male agents with regular gender

sensitization courses
Increasing awareness of gender roles
Developing skills in use of language and communication to suit women
14.Using women as contact farmers or farmer friends.
15.Crches for children of women farmers. This will enable girls to go to
schools.
16.Proper health care support for girls and women.

35
17.Most of the micro enterprises undertaken by women are based on the
skills

and raw material available rather than considering the market needs and
market dynamics. In-depth marketing study would help identify effective
marketing strategy for products. Cooperative marketing of products and
assigning brand names for the products would also be helpful in finding
sustainable markets.
While developing farm women programmes, the cost of the hiring
consultants
to conduct market analysis and market development should be kept in
mind.

Conclusion:
The Need for Different Strategies
The involvement of women in crop production varies according to the type
of crop
grown and the cropping systems and the socio-economic status of the
family. There
is also a need to make distinctions between the involvement of women as
agricultural
labourers and involvement of women in agricultural operations on their
own farm. In
relatively prosperous areas where land holdings are large and most of the
agricultural
operations are mechanized, women play only a marginal role. The women
from poor
families work as agricultural labourers irrespective of the community to
which they
belong. Keeping milch animals, small ruminants and backyard poultry is
an important
source of income for poor farm families and agricultural labourers.
The problems of tribal women are different from other rural women and
they need a
totally different approach. For instance, majority of the workers involved in
collection
of non-timber forest produce (NTFP) are women, particularly tribal women.
However,
approximately 70% of the NTFP collections take place in the six states of
the central
belt; Maharashtra, Madhya Pradesh, Chhatisgarh, Bihar, Orissa and
Andhra Pradesh
and many tribal women face several constrains operating in the NTFP
economy. This
is because they spend a considerable amount of time in fetching water
and, therefore,

36

do not have the time to add value to minor forest produce (which would
help to
increase their income). The women who bring produce to the market are
also
exploited because they lack knowledge on proper weights and prices for
the timber
and there is a language barrier too (traders are often from the plains with
whom tribal
women find difficult to communicate and bargain for prices). Programmes
for tribal
women, therefore, need a different approach to help overcome some of
these
constraints.
It would be a mistake to view rural women as a homogeneous social
classification or
to derive policies and services for women in agriculture that are not
based on
empirical research that captures this diversity (jiggins et al, 1997). Thus,
there should
not be any centrally generated blueprints for tackling women related
issues in
agriculture. It is important to recognize the various categories of women
farmers that
exist and their needs in the agriculture sphere and from there to develop
appropriate
strategies to assist them e.g. whilst some parts of India require trained
women to
reach women farmers, others may require trained women as motivators
only, and
other areas may require the male agricultural officers to be trained on
womens issues
to disseminate technology to women.

37

PRA TECHNIQUES
A. PRA is both an attitude and a methodology. It is one of the tools of
surveying
that helps outsiders to understand the village systems, dynamics and
politics by using
various techniques as well as by methods of direct observation and
discussion. These
methods or techniques often produce interesting and authentic
information of the
village. Useful insights are also gained. The process of understanding the
agro eco
system and the social organization can only be successful with the total
involvement
of the village people and the officials concerned.
The need for PRA
1)Sustained change and the need for accurate and timely information
2)It advocates that the people themselves are Solution Agents for their
problems
3)It cuts down the Normal Professional Bias and anti-poverty basis towards
people
4)Reduces down the normal time consuming long methods of survey which
consumes the much-needed resources and that gives results after a long
time. The method is cost effective, accurate and timely.
The Purpose of PRA
i)To use farmers criteria, choices and understand the local environment with
clear local priorities.
ii)To learn farmers indigenous technologies
iii)To achieve for triangulation, using different methods and involving various
people to check and re-check the findings

iv)To develop self-critical analysis and direct contact with local needs and
communities.

38
Before discussing in detail, the techniques used in watershed, it would be
appropriate to know some of the general guidelines when we conduct PRA
in
watersheds.

Operational Instructions on Village Interactions:

The following suggestions would be helpful to ensure a conducive
environment
for participatory learning. The suggestions contain actions required
before, during
and after the semi-structured interviews.
Before:
Meet the villagers with an open and frank mind. Tell them who you are
and why you have come here
Build up personal rapport with villagers
Identify villagers who are willing to share their experience
Show full interest and enthusiasm
Always begin the interview by relaxing the tension of the interviewee by
asking general questions and setting the climate for discussion
Select a suitable place for the interview. Sit down with the villagers on the
same floor
During:
Listen carefully
Show empathy

Be patient
Intense and careful observation is most important
Try to understand villagers way of reasoning
Do not interrupt, suggest or prescribe

39
Be polite, gentle and accommodative
Try to adjust with villagers convenience
Do not lecture
Respect villagers as human beings
Head nodding during interview either in approval or in disapproval
should be
avoided as much as possible.
Try to follow existing social customs of the village, e.g. remove shoes at
the
doorstep before entering the house, avoid smoking in front of the elders,
wish the
elderly persons with Namaskar (Folded hands). Do not insist too much
upon the
women members of the family who are reluctant to talk directly or sit in
middle of
a gathering. They generally participate in discussions through male
members
sitting in the foreground.
Participate whole heartedly
Accept villagers offer of hospitality e.g. tea, snacks
There is no point in getting impatient or becoming too much inquisitive
when the

villagers discuss amongst themselves. In their own local language which

we may
not understand easily. Other villagers who know our language would love
to
translate it for us.
In villages of eastern India there is a practice of offering evening
prayers with
Pradip and blowing conch shell by the housewives of Hindu families near
a
Tulsi plant in the courtyard at dusk. Be respectful at that time and
discussions
may be stopped for a while, if the group work is progressing in the
courtyard
Lead towards sensitive and important issues using open ended
questions
Asking too many questions at a time should be avoided
40
Allow time for reflection and organization of the answers to the group
Take detail note of the answers and on the process of discussion and
information
generation
Quick sketch of subject under study or innovation of the villagers may
be drawn
Individuals trying to dominate the discussion should be prevented
carefully.
Intervene politely, comeback to the original discussion and provide
opportunities
to everyone.
Do not prolong the group interview unnecessarily
Revolve the discussions around the main issue without blocking
spontaneity

Change of topic should be smooth

The intervening group should not generally have more than 4 or 5
people. The
number of interviewers should not generally exceed the number of
interviewees.
Use kiplings seven servants: What, When, Where, Which, Who, Why,
How to
rephraze questions
Try to find out different villagers for different tasks (interviews)
During the course of interview the interviewer should not move out
without
intimating the group formally
After:
At the end of the interview all the interviewees must be thanked
individually by the
members of intervening group for giving time and sharing their
experiences.
Sit down with all the members and record all the information collected
and the
process of information generations

41
B.PRA TECHNIQUES:
Participator Mapping / Modeling:
This is the construction of a map of village area using rangoli powders or
chalk
on the ground or a cement floor for understanding the village layout, main
features
such as housing, temples, stores and other infrastructure and other
resources like

forests, lands, watersheds etc.

Purposes :
1.To get an impression of the social and physical lay out of the village as
perceived by villagers themselves
2.To understand globally the social structure of the village, who live where,
which facilities are there, where they are located etc.
3.To get an impression of the natural resource environment of the village
as
perceived by the villagers.
Villagers generally feel comfortable and find it interesting to draw maps of
their
own village. Maps drawn in participation of many villagers, draws a good
deal of their
collective local knowledge which provides us an opportunity to explore the
pattern of
land use, the type of natural resources management by the villagers and
the problems
and prospects of the area. As an effective means of communication it
reveals many
minute details so far unobserved by many. The following suggestions may
be useful
while constructing the maps.

42
Before :

Decide what sort of map will be drawn (social, resource map/watershed

map etc.)
If possible, collect the village and mouza maps, land use capability map
etc. and
other related informations.
Explain and discuss the purpose briefly
Try to involve a good number of villagers of different age groups
Carry full size drawing sheets, coloured sketch pens, markers, etc. for
maps on
paper.
For participatory mapping and modelling on the ground, select a
suitable spacious
place which can provide sufficient space to all the villagers, (e.g.
varnandah of the
village primary school, village clubs, Harmandir (a place of worship) etc.
and can
be protected and preserved for a couple of days. During mansoon the map
may
be drawn on cement floor or ground under a shed. For such maps to be
drawn on
the floor, coloured chalaks, rangoli powders etc. may be brought from
outside.
However, the villagers use a wide range of locally available materials (e.g.
mud,
pebbles, tree-wings, paddy husk etc.)
During :
Allow the villagers to draw the map in their own style and complete the
work first
Do not suggest or interrupt from outside. Facilitators may even leave
the site for

few hours after initiating the work of participatory mapping by the

villagers. It has
been found that the villagers feel free to work and put their best in
absence of the
outsiders.
Sometimes more than 5-6 villagers work together at a time on a large
map drawn
on the ground.
43
When the group of villagers finish their work of drawing the map on the
ground,
and move out, the next group who stands around and look with curiosity
start
interacting and sometimes suggests changes/or additions.
Encourage them to put their views. Gradually many more villagers may
join the
interactive discussion and scores of informations flow. Sufficient time for
such
interaction among the villagers and outsiders may be allowed.
After this when a good number of villagers have gathered around the
map/model,
discussions related to participatory plan developed by the villagers
(earlier) may be
initiated. Someone from the group may be requested to show and explain
on the
map the areas that will come under coverage of the special plan prepared
by them
(e.g. location of a check dam, command area of the micro irrigation plan,
wasteland and phasewise plantation, etc.)
Someone from the group may be requested to demarcate and show the
special
areas (as per their plan) on the map using different coloured powder, or
lime or

saw dust night in front of everybody. This helps in removing the barriers of
communication amongst all and also helps to understand the present
state of
affair and how it will be, after implementation of the collective plan.
At this stage, sometimes-controversial discussions start, especially
when a village
participatory plan do not benefit all groups of people. For example, the
landless
people apparently do not get the benefit from the implementation of an
irrigation
plan, or what benefit one gets from a pasture development plan when he /
she
does not have any cattle? Or who gets the benefit from wasteland
plantation
programme and how? Allow these discussions to continue since the
participatory
plan will be further triangulated.
The social maps, drawn on paper may be used during wealth ranking.
Sometimes
villagers develop signs / indicators to denote the land holding, ponds,
number of

44
cattle, possession of T.V., Motor Cycle, number of service holders etc. in
each
family. They put these signs against each on the social maps drawn on a
sheet.
Apart from distribution of households, cart etc. many other informations
emerge
out of social maps. These may be copted.
When the question answer session around the ground map is in its
peak, listen
carefully and record quickly the intriguing question raised by some groups
of

peoples or women folks and the possible solutions suggested by the other
group
of villagers explaining the map. The group map can be copted on paper.
After :
If possible take a couple of snaps (slide or photograph) of the map /
model from a
high point
Formally thank the villagers for doing the work. Cheer the group with
clap, who
actively participated in making the map.
Situations where applicable:
Participatory maps are useful in identifying status of land holding and
animals
of different households, in identifying beneficiaries of various
developmental
programmes etc. Through participatory mapping other items like dryland /
irrigated
land, forest land, rivers and temple lands, tanks and nullahs and other
water
resources could be identified. The participatory mapping can also be used
to prepare
treatment plans for soil and water conservations, forestry and other
treatments.
C. Transact Walk :
A transact walk is a kind of exploratory walk which is undertaken by the
team
along with the villagers to observe and send in minute details the
differences of a
particular area.

45
Purposes :
1.To get an idea about farming practices, cropping patterns, the physical
layout
(existing or planned) of irrigation facilities etc.
2.To know the agro-eco system of the village
3.To get the cross sectional view of the village
The following suggestions may be useful during a transact walk :
Before :
Form a group (team) including the villagers who are willing to walk. It is
always
better to encourage elderly and experienced villagers and the village
youths to join
the transact walk.
Explain briefly the purpose
Select the area under study, village, canal, khal, catchment or a
particular area. It
is better to assign the responsibilities of 1. Asking questions, ii) recording
informations, iii) drawing quick sketches and diagrams iv) collecting
unknown
leaves, herbs, fruits, grass etc. to different team members before
beginning the
walk e.g. some of us may concentrate on entry of trees and vegetations,
some
may concentrate on topography, soil, irrigation etc. while others on the
problems
and prospects of the area.
During:

Observe everything in minute detail and listen carefully

Ask questions by using what, when, how, where, why, which and who
Record everything you see and listen and sketch and draw maps
46
Collect species of new plants, weeds, fodder, grass or seeds which may
have some
usage. Ask about their usefulness. Some of the accompanying villagers
may not
know all.
Do walk upto the last boundary of the area under study and insist all
the group
members to complete the walk even if it takes long time
Encourage other villagers to join the walk if they are available on the
way.
Instead of following strictly a route map, do move to all sides and take
time and
observe. While walking along a khal/canal. Do walk away from the canal
/route
on both sides (left and right) at certain points and observe the
environment
Do not hurry, walk leisurely trying to look at things from a different
perspective
Instead of always walking along the mall, village paths walk may be
followed to
note the difference between the areas.
After :
Carefully document all the informations collected by all the team
members

Prepare final diagrams and sketches from the rough sketches

Meet other villagers and cross check and compare the informations.
Record how
things differ from one situation to other.
Questions which could not be answered by the accompanying villagers
of your
team may be asked to other experienced persons of the village after
return.
Situations where applicable : Transacts are used as pre-requisites for
mapping, zoning of different areas into ecological zones, land use
mapping,
productivity zoning, locating indigenous technologies etc. Transacts are
also used to
locate areas in the village which need to be treated / developed

47
D. INDIGENOUS TECHNICAL KNOWLEDGE
Purposes :
1.To learn about the indigenous technologies available with the farmers
2.To test it out and identify the uses for building if further
3.To propagate further
4.To preserve ITK for future
Steps involved in finding ITKs:
Rapport building
Identify the experienced villagers and initiate discussion
Best time to find out ITKs is during the Transect exercise
Show your interest and exchange experiences in order to get more

information
Ask reasons behind following the practices, method of utilization,
advantages and disadvantages over other things
Ask the source of knowledge
Collect samples if available
Move from place to place for collection of information
Situations where applicable:
Agriculture and allied activities
Health

48
E. TIME LINE :
Time line refers to a calendar of historical events from as far back as one
can
remember upto the present, in the life of a person, community, village,
area or
institution depending on what we wish to construct. Such a calendar of
historical
events can form the basis of helping us trace trends through history and
study the
nature of change. An example of events could be The year when our
road was
built and a bus started coming. Since these events are constructed from
the
memories of people, the best informants are the old people of the village.
Giving
dates to events may have to be done by asking questions such as How
old do you
think you were when this happened?

PURPOSE: To find out the sequence of historical events and changes that
occurred
in the village and their impact on the social and agro-ecological base
The following suggestions may be useful during this exercise
Before :
Set the climate for a participatory discussion
Encourage elderly and knowledgeable villagers to join the discussion as
far as
possible
Carry sheets of papers and sketch pens
During :
Initiate discussions and ask questions to the older informants at first.
Ask them to
recapitulate the major events and changes that took place over the years
e.g.
what were those which they had seen when they were young and do not
see now.
How big was the forest? How deep was the pond and so on. Ask some of
them
to write down the chronological order. Do not insist too much on specific
year or
date. Do not impose

49
Record the informations
After :
Compare the changes, identify the trends. (Whether rainfall, forest
cover has
decreased; population, cropped area, erosion has increased. If there is any
corelation with the cropped area and cattle population)

Thank all the villagers for sharing their experience

Situations where applicable :
The time line exercise can be applied to find out the background ofa
village or
the evolution of specific activities or programmes such as health,
nutrition, other
social amenities, animal husbandry and agricultural programmes and
other economic
activities. The time line for agriculture, for example would indicate the
occurrence of
droughts, the adoption of new crops and varieties. HYVs and hybrids,
fertilizer
usage, years in which major crop failures took place etc. Similarly a time
line on
animal husbandry would indicate the trends in animal husbandry
practices, shifts in
the population of small and large animals, introduction of cross breeds,
installation of
veterinary infrastructure, major disease epidemics etc.
F. MATRIX RANKING :
Villagers preferences and attitude towards a particular topic of interest is
revealed to us by this technique. It helps us to understand farmers
priorities in crop
varieties, vegetables, tree species, livestock categories, soil and water
conservation
techniques, irrigation methods etc. The reasons for their liking and
disliking and the
stuble differences in choice and priority among the villagers of different
areas can also
be understood which help us to prioritize and determine the strategy.
Their criteria
provide us an opportunity to think and look at things from a new angle
and
perspective.

50
PURPOSES:
1.To gain better understanding of farmers decision making processes.
2.To identify criteria used to prioritize and select certain items or activities
over
others.
The following suggestions may be useful while making matrix.
Before :
After the initial round of discussions and rapport building select a
suitable place to
sit down and conduct the exercise
Include people from different age groups and classes
Matrix ranking for different classes of people may be conducted (e.g.
womens
choice of vegetables for kitchen garden or tribal farmers preference for
different
categories of livestock etc.)
During :
Initiate discussion on a particular topic (e.g. rice varieties or tree
species) and start
listing all the varieties and species as told by the villagers)
Ask them about the advantages of each of these and what is good
about them.
Similarly list out the bad points and the negative criteria
Allow the farmers to state all their criteria and ask till they do not have
any more
criteria to offer
At points of controversies, take few others opinion

Carefully handle the gatekeepers (villagers who do not allow others to

participate
and dominate over the discussion)

51
Provide full size paper sheets and coloured sketch pens to those in the
group
(villagers) who can write
If there is no one in the group who can write, help them developing a
matrix
ranking table either by drawing sketches on the paper or by writing. For
tree
ranking, leaves of different trees may also be used to explain
All species / varieties may be written in a line on the top and the
villagers criteria
on the side of the paper. Similarly a large matrix may be constructed on
the
ground or floor
If there are ten varieties written on the top, ask six criteria written
along the side,
divide the page by drawing nine clear and vertical lines and five horizontal
lines to
construct the matrix table
Ask the villagers to rank the varieties / species of their choice for each
criteria by
marking 1 to 8. Write no.1 is given against the best and 8 for the worst.
Villagers
may use stones, seeds or match sticks to rank. Ask them to put the seeds
or
stones in each box against each criteria.

When a similar rank is given to more than one species, an asterisk

mark may be
given
At last ask the villagers, which variety / species they consider best
among all
considering every criteria.
After:
Examine the overall ranking carefully and see which variety / item
scores high in
almost all the criteria
Compare the results of participatory matrix ranking of one group /
village with the
result of another group

52
Do not insist upon your criteria with those of the villagers criteria
Thank all the informants for sharing their views
Situations where applicable :
Matrix ranking can be used to study a range of subjects like soil types,
crops
and crop varieties, trees, fodder, types of cattle and breeds etc.
SEASONALITY:
Seasonality is an important and useful exercise to determine seasonal
patterns
in rural areas as related to rainfall, farming practices, employment etc. In
seasonality
an attempt is made to determine the seasonal calendar as understood
and practiced
by the villagers.

To get an insight into the seasonal variations in a number of parameters

relevant in farmers lives e.g. work, employment, income, availability of
food, fuel,
fodder, health, migration and transport facilities. The following
suggestions may be
useful while doing the exercise:
Before :
Set the climate for a participatory discussion
Sit down with the informants (preferably from all the age groups)
Initiate discussion on a particular topic (rainfall, labour demand, market
rate of
vegetables etc.)
During
Ask the informants to explain the seasonal changes and variations and
draw on
a paper or on the ground
53
Help them develop scales (a bar diagram or other) to depict the
seasonal
variations and ask them to complete the graph
They may write the names of twelve months on small sheets of paper
and put
them in order. Then bars using pieces of sticks or branches or columns
using
stones or seeds of different lengths may be developed to depict the
rainfall,
food stock etc.
Allow the informants to change or correct the graphs if they want to do
so

after a second round of discussions

Do not interfere much or dominate or impose your ideas
Altogether separate graphs/bar diagrams may be prepared for different
items
(e.g. rainfall, incidence of diseases, agril. Labour demand etc.) or seasonal
variations of a number of items may be depicted on one chart using
different
articles like seeds to show rainfall, sticks for food availability or leaves as
indicator of availability of fodder etc. Gradually a graph emerges out with
villagers participation
After :
Transfer the bar diagrams/graphs on large sheets of paper record
other
details
Triangulate the findings in larger groups during village presentation
Thank all villagers for participating in the exercise
Situations where applicable:
The seasonality exercise has a wide range of applications viz. To indicate
rainfall, agricultural operations, employment, credit and fodder
availability, grazing
patterns, milk yields, breeding periods, animal and human health diseases
etc.

54
References:
1.Biogas Co-operative Togetherness is the key, Women, Energy and
Development,
Urja
Conventional Energy
Sources, New Delhi

Bharati

June

2001,

Ministry

of Non-

2.Grover, Indu (2003), Unit-I Gender Theory and Development: Post

Graduate
Diploma on Gender and Development through Distance Education, HEL
Project,
Department of HSEE, CCS HAU, Hisar, India
3.Gender and Food Security, Published by FAO.
4.Guidelines for Gender analysis of Public Expenditure, Ministry of Women
and
Child Development, Govt. of India.
5.Gender Budgeting
Departments

Handbook

for

Govt.

of

India,

Ministries

and

(2007), Ministry of Women and Child Development, Govt. of India.

6.UNESCOs
Gender
(GMIF), 2002-07,

Mainstreaming

Implementation

Framework

the section for Women and Gender Equality of the Bureau of Strategic
Planning, Paris, France.

55